Peter Campbell's rage over forest management (2112) comes from his continuous assertions that timber production from native forests is not sustainable and destroys biodiversity and fundamental ecology. In contrast, the extensive scientific literature shows that not one of the 122 known species extinctions in Australia over the past 200 years is attributed to forestry. The fundamental ecology of Australia's eucalypt forests, as for forests over much of the world, is not destroyed by natural disturbances nor by properly planned forestry operations.
The recently announced Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) for East Gippsland meets all of the nationally agreed criteria for comprehensive, adequate and representative reserves. It meets all of the criteria for preservation of wilderness, old growth and biodiversity. It is the first of the RFAs for Australia, and is the culmination of decades of inquiries and land-use planning studies, all of which have been based on rigorous scientific studies and assessments.
The RFA process should give the community confidence that the State
and Federal Governments have achieved a balanced outcome for reservation
and management of forests in East Gippsland. It will not do much for those
who are implacably opposed to all logging in native forest. However, it
deserves soundly based discussion of the scientific facts rather than rhetoric.